Abstract [en]

The purpose of the paper is to explore how an entrepreneur seizes opportunities in different contexts over the course of time through the developmental phases of an enterprise. The investigation is about a Chinese entrepreneur who founded a feather processing firm in 1978 after the start of the economic reform in the country. A qualitative research approach was selected to guide the exploratory nature of the study. Relevant data have been collected from news reports, articles and books written about the entrepreneur and the case company. During the early phase of the firm's development, the entrepreneur depended heavily on political connections to search for and seize opportunities. Institutional actors, such as the local government and the central government, played the role of mediators by introducing the entrepreneur to the most important actors in the market and providing resources such as loans, land, labour, etc. The foundation of the company was not the result of the foresightedness of the entrepreneur but of the Chinese central government. Thus, we refer to this entrepreneurship as state-promoted entrepreneurship. The entrepreneur's relationship with the institutional actors was represented by patronage, privilege and protection. As time progressed, experience grew and institutional policies changed towards favouring foreign trade, the entrepreneur sought opportunities independently, occasionally bypassing the important institutional actors. We refer to such a phenomenon as "State-parenting entrepreneurship", which is similar to how parents raise their children in a protective environment during the early years and subsequently allow them, over time, to move on independently.

sted, utgiver, år, opplag, sider

Reading: ACAD Conferences Ltd. , 2013. s. 401-408

Serie

Proceedings of the European Conference on Entrepreneurship and Innovation, ISSN 2049-1050